Matt Ritchie is no stranger to the Premier League after enjoying a successful season with AFC Bournemouth two years ago.

It was only the lure of playing for Newcastle United and Rafa Benitez that resulted in him quitting the south coast to drop down a division and return to the Sky Bet Championship with the recently relegated Magpies.

But Ritchie never really deemed his decision as a risk, and after netting 16 goals from out wide to help Newcastle claw their way back to the Premier League he can now look forward to being a Toon player in the top flight.

Speaking to the Chronicle from United’s Carton House training base in County Kildare, Ritchie admits the hard work is only just starting.

He said: “You have to be focused.

“Everyone knows the task in hand.

“A little bit of the job was done last season when getting back to the Premier League.”

All eyes will be on Newcastle again as one of the newly promoted clubs in English football’s top tier and after Hull City and Middlesbrough dropped out of the division the Magpies have already been spoken about as relegation material.

Newcastle player Matt Ritchie jogs during the Newcastle United Training Session at the Newcastle United Training Centre on July 3, 2017, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (Image: Newcastle United)

Indeed, only this week Paul Merson and Graeme Souness said that Newcastle will be scrapping for their lives unless they spend more money.

Ritchie said: “By no means do we want to stand still and toy with relegation.

“We need to kick on and keep building as a club and as a team.

“The lads obviously want to take on the information the gaffer puts across.”

And that has started very well for United during an intense pre-season schedule that has included double sessions on most days this summer.

Ritchie knows that the foundations for next season will be put firmly in place in Ireland.

He added: “I think we need to realise we haven’t done anything yet just because we got promoted.

“It’s an important season and we need to get better and keep striving for more.

“The Premier League is ruthless and we need to be at our best to take anything from games.

“Focus on the training pitch is the start of that.”

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Newcastle held open training sessions for both the Tyneside and Irish media this week and each journalist was allowed to mingle freely with players afterwards to gather interviews and material for the new season ahead.

Ritchie was introduced gradually to training after sitting out of the first friendly game with a calf knock.

Reflecting on the atmosphere in the group, Ritchie said: “It’s been so far, so good.